In an unusual but far from unprecedented move, the justices rejected the recommended punishment and sent the case back to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline for further proceedings, “including consideration of a more severe sanction.”

Hale, 58, has admitted that he committed judicial misconduct by dismissing a speeding ticket in December 2011 for a lawyer who represented him in state and federal lawsuits. The judge, who sat on the bench for a decade, announced his retirement on May 9, a week after the disciplinary counsel filed a complaint against him. He said then he wanted to continue his career as a lawyer.

Hale had reached a “discipline by consent” agreement with the high court’s disciplinary counsel. The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline approved the agreement on Oct. 14 and recommended it to the Supreme Court.

Hale’s attorney, George D. Jonson, said, “I’m surprised by the court’s decision but they certainly have the prerogative” to reject the sanction agreement.” He declined to speculate on whether a harsher punishment was likely in Round 2 of disciplinary proceedings against Hale.

Richard A. Dove, secretary for the disciplinary board, said officials on the panel had no comment on the court’s decision. A new recommendation for Hale’s punishment won’t likely be made until next year.

In recent years, the court has rejected nearly a quarter of such sanction recommendations.

Last spring, in another case involving an elected official, the justices rejected a proposed public reprimand of former state Rep. Robert Mecklenborg, who resigned from the House of Representatives after being charged with drunken driving in Indiana. He later pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and was sentenced to one year of probation.

After a second review in professional misconduct proceedings, the disciplinary board last month again proposed a public reprimand of Mecklenborg. The Ohio Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will accept or reject the recommendation.

Hale dismissed a speeding ticket for attorney Patrick M. Quinn, who was representing him in sexual-harassment lawsuits. The judge threw out the ticket “without any involvement from the prosecutor or Quinn” and signed a judgment that “falsely stated: Prosecutor dismisses,” the consent agreement says.

About four months later, he engaged in improper communication about the case by contacting Quinn and Chief City Prosecutor Lara Baker-Morrish. He asked each to sign an entry indicating that the ticket was dismissed “with the consent of the Columbus city attorney's office and the defendant.” Baker-Morrish refused.

Hale eventually vacated the dismissal and removed himself from the case. Quinn pleaded guilty and paid a $55 fine and $116 in court costs on the day that the judge stepped aside.

Quinn represented Hale in three lawsuits stemming from complaints of inappropriate behavior against the judge by a court employee and a defendant in a drunken-driving case. All three were settled out of court.